


Venom

by LegendaryDork



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Gen, Hallucinations, I'm Sorry, Red Lotus, Season 3 Finale, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-09 05:14:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7788064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LegendaryDork/pseuds/LegendaryDork
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Korra was captured by the Red Lotus and needs to find a way to survive and win the battle. She knows it, there is a price to pay with every incoming fight… </p><p>The story is based on the 3x13 episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys :) 
> 
> This work may be weird at first, Korra goes through a lot of stuff in this story. Let me know what you think! 
> 
> Try to enjoy the ride.

   
Korra’s wrists were burning. The metal around them leaving lacerations on her skin, a trail of blood flowing along her forearms. Her muscles ached. She couldn’t move. She barely could see the shape of this dark cavern, where her body was suspended above the ground, a dozen of feet in the air with metallic chains. She had to fight to inhale some hot, suffocating oxygen. Her mouth was dry.  Her ankles were trapped in the same cutting metal. Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t alone. She saw a group of people including Ming-Hua the waterbender, Ghazan the lavabender, and this bald airbender.

_Zaheer._

“You… You killed my father!” She blew a large, angry trail of fire in his direction. He didn’t seem impressed, almost smirking.

“I understand your grief. I also lost someone I loved today. But your pain will soon be over.” He turned to some Red Lotus acolytes dressed in red and black fabric. One of them was holding a bowl with a grey liquid. “Bring the poison.”

Korra gasped. Her eyes widened. She tried her best to escape her suspended prison. “When I get out of here, none of you will survive!” This jerk almost laughed.

“You won't get out, unless the Metal Clan has taught you a way to bend platinum.” He briefly focused his attention to the bowl. “Once we administer this poison, your body will naturally react, forcing you into the Avatar State in an effort to keep you alive. Sadly for you, you'll be entering it for the last time.”

Korra took only a second to realize what his sentence meant. “No! The Avatar Cycle…” _He wouldn’t…_

His green eyes crossed her cerulean. Zaheer inhaled slowly. “Yes. When we dispatch you in the Avatar State, the cycle will end.” He eyed Ming-Hua, Ghazan and the acolytes, and then returned his gaze to Korra. “So we lucky few, this band of brothers and sisters in anarchy, are witnessing the beginning of an era of true freedom. Together, we will forge a world without kings and queens, without borders or nations, where Man's only allegiance is to himself and those he loves. We will return to the true balance of natural order. And though you will never again be reborn, your name will echo throughout history: Korra, the last Avatar.” _I refuse to die today. It’s not possible. I need to get out of here!_ “Administer the poison.”

The acolyte with a long brown moustache began to bend the poison, stretching it in a few trails and made it embrace Korra’s limbs. First to her legs, then her arms. She didn’t expect the almost bearable burning that came almost instantly. Her skin crackled. She felt the liquid running through her veins in a sharp movement. _It hurts! It hurts so much..._ She blinked, not feeling her watery eyes, and let a long whimper.  _No! Please stop!_ All she could see was white.

The airbender’s gaze widened. “Get ready! As soon as she’s in the Avatar State, take her out!”

Ming-Hua bent her water arms into sharp ice meanwhile Ghazan bent lava beneath Korra. Her eyes became white for a straight second. She could sense the Avatar spirit.

_I can’t let them hurt you, Raava. I will protect you!_  
  
_“They will crush you, Korra. If you fight them, you cannot fight the poison. You will have to choose. If you fight them, you will die.”_  
  
_You’re too important! Just leave if you have to!_  
  
Ghazan frowned. “Wait. Why isn’t she staying in the Avatar State?”  
  
Zaheer grinned. He knew how the fight would progress. “Give it time. She can’t resist for long.”  
  
White. Everywhere. Korra blinked. She felt dizzy. The Red Lotus cavern morphed into a small, white room. Her heart raced in an increasing pace. She still couldn’t breathe properly. The air was salty, with a nauseous odor of something burnt. _It smells like skin._  A dozen of hands held her. She saw a bald man wearing a white doctor's coat. His gaze, hidden behind small, round glasses crossed her eyes. She gasped, recognizing Zaheer. She closed her eyelids forcefully.  
  
“It’s working!” Her mind came back to the fight in the Red Lotus cavern. She eyed the anarchists, facing Zaheer. His face turned into Amon’s mask. “I told you Korra. The world doesn’t need you anymore.” _What is going on?_  
  
Once again, she found herself in this white, hot piece, the thick smell of burnt skin filling her nostrils. Her head hurt so much. All of her muscles ached, like she just ran a marathon. Her body couldn’t move. The dozen hands still on her almost naked body. She blinked. And found the now familiar cavern in her sight. Her lungs ached with the burning air. She saw Ghazan’s head turn in a slow circle, changing into her uncle Unalaq. “The time of the Avatar is over, Korra. Give up.” _No…_  
  
Ming-Hua’s body changed into Vaatu. He approached Korra. “You’re too weak to resist, and I’m stronger than ever. There’s no use fighting. Let go.”  
  
They all repeated this last sentence.  
  
  
Let go.  
  
  
  
Let go.  
  
  
  
Let go.  
  
  
  
_Maybe I should let go…_ Her eyes became white, forcing her into the Avatar State. Zaheer demanded, far from Korra’s attention, to destroy the Avatar. This burning sensation running through Korra’s veins began to fulfill her whole body. She couldn’t feel her feet anymore; her body was exhausted. The handcuffs cut deeply her wrists and had reached the bleeding muscles. Her ankles were bruised, almost bleeding too. She needed to throw up. Her chapped lips were deeply cut. She could feel every bone of her aching legs. Her spine cracking in multiple places, hurting so much. _I think I’ll let go._  
  
Raava spoke. _“Korra you have to wake up. You have to keep going. You still have some time. Do it for your family. Do it for your friends. Do it for Asami.”_  
  
The name of her best friend resonated in her head. She just had to take care of herself to join the beautiful woman. She had to do it for the woman she loves.  
  
Ming-Hua threw a few ice arrows towards Korra. The Avatar bent fire in a long breath and managed to free one of her arms. Her wrist was still trapped but she rolled the chains around her forearm, hitting the waterbender and knocking her out. Ghazan tried to lavabend in her direction but she responded with a massive burst of air, sending the lava back to his expeditor. He gasped, running away from the incandescent liquid. Korra took advantage of the situation to free her ankles, metallic ties still hooked on her but with an increased mobility. She jumped, bending herself in safety to the ground, and bent massive rocks towards Zaheer. Surprised, he took a step back.  
  
Korra moved the rocks quickly around her, making them flying in circles. She ignored the pain in her limbs, huffed, and threw the rocks right to her enemies. She screamed in pain, seeing nothing but a powerful white light around her.  
  
She heard a muffled voice. Finding who it was wasn’t Korra’s priority. The airbender flew away; She had to stop Zaheer, follow him, and stop him.  
  
Both of them fighting in the sky with ease, Zaheer sent bursts of air against her, hurting her in the process. She had a few cuts all around her arms. Korra did her best to throw everything she had on hand to hurt him. Earth. Fire. Air. Water. After long minutes of playing cat and mouse, Zaheer found his right foot trapped in a block of ice. Korra chased him, firebending her body towards him angrily.  
  
A sharp pain filled her lungs, and her mind was gone into this strange place once again. A strident alarm was ringing, forcing her to lean against the wall. _I have to get out of here too, it seems._ She tried to run along the white, long corridors. This place seemed abandoned. She saw broken windows to her right. A metallic door to her left, leading to a small room. Almost like a prison door.  
  
“Korra?” Korra stopped. Asami was trapped in the room, only containing a bed and a chamber pot. She was wearing black and white striped pajamas. Even with her hair loosened and without makeup, she was beautiful. “Korra you have to get out of here! I love you… Just go and don’t come back for me!”  
  
_She can’t be serious._ “Asami, I’ve been poisoned. I don’t know what’s going on… I –” Without warning, Korra collapsed on the floor.  
  
She faced Zaheer once again. “You can’t fight me and the poison.” He hit Korra several times, sending her away in a painful strike each time. She screamed her pain. Her legs were feeling like cotton. She couldn’t stand up properly, barely carrying the weight of her own body. He hit her forcefully. She felt her body falling from a great height. Her body crashed, and her spine cracked in a horrible sound. All she could feel was the metallic taste of her own blood with every gulp.  
  
Korra now had to let go, accept she had lost the fight. The pain had stopped in her legs. She could barely feel her torso, as if the burning poison had consumed all of her healthy cells. One last time, she had seen Asami, even if it was in a strange dream.  
  
“The poison has done its work. The Avatar Cycle will be over momentarily.” Zaheer airbent her body. She saw his hands moving in an unfamiliar motion. Korra’s eyes widened. All she could sense was fear and the lack of oxygen. She felt her lungs collapsing. Her body panted, her muscles twitched, grasping for air.  
  
Korra fainted. Slowly, her body relaxed and everything became dark.

\---  
  
She woke up in a bed. White blankets kept her body warm. She tried to wake up, but failed. _These damned white walls. Where am I?_  
  
A young blonde woman entered in the room. She was wearing a long white dress, white tights, and white shoes. _Everything is white in this place… Even her hat._ “Good morning Korra. It’s time to clean your body.”  
  
“What… What happened? I can’t feel my legs.” The woman stared at her, almost disgusted to be in the same room as Korra.  
  
“You tried to escape during a healing session. You jumped from one of the windows but fell badly on the ground. Your spine was crushed because of the impact.” The woman cleaned Korra, almost ripping her skin in the process. She avoided as much physical contact as possible. Then she left without a word. Korra could hear screams from her room. Someone hitting the walls. _Or scratching them?_ Another person entered the room.  
  
“Korra.” A flash of light hit her.  
  
Once again, she found herself next to Zaheer. But he seemed trapped in an amount of earth this time. She was curled in her father’s arms. “Korra. Sweetheart. It’s me, Dad. Please, hang on.” Korra tried to touch his face. The unbearable pain forced her to stop the movement. She closed her eyes, comforting herself in his strong arms. She heard people talking around her, but she didn’t mind.  
  
Something quit her lungs, trailed through her throat and quit her mouth. She coughed, feeling better instantly. “Dad. You’re alive.” _I thought you left me forever..._  
  
“I’m here for you.” He hugged her lovingly. “I’m never gonna let you go.” Feeling loved and protected, she closed her eyes.

\---   
  
Asami took a golden hairpin from her lips and inserted it into Korra’s bunned hair. “There you go. All fixed up for the doctor’s visit.” She pointed a finger to Korra’s reflection in a window. “Take a look.”  
  
Korra, sitting in her wheelchair, didn’t react. Her eyes glazed over, she didn't notice Asami's presence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Korra is going to be okay. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :) 
> 
> So, last chapter was really confusing. What really happened to Korra?

  
“Elizabeth? Would you prepare the room for case number 3357?” Doctor Freeman addressed his question to a young, blonde nurse.

“I’m on it. Case number 3357 is Mrs Kamali, right?” He nodded, smiling. _Women always tend to humanize medical cases_.

Elizabeth entered in a small, white room. During summer, the building always had a suffocating atmosphere because of the healing baths and electroconvulsive therapy rooms in addition to the natural warmth of the Fire Nation. She cleaned the room and surgical tools, and prepared the installation of a little black box. She left a bowl of liquid next to a syringe on Doctor Freeman’s table.

Mrs Kamali was dead asleep. This patient needed some help for daily care but she had… Disturbing symptoms. She was a dangerous woman, for the other patients but also for herself. Elizabeth put her in a wheelchair and led her to the operating room. She secured the patient with metallic restraints on both her legs and ankles, and called the bald doctor and four of her colleagues for the healing session.

“Mrs Kamali.” The woman barely opened her eyes. She was in a dizzy state. Her tired blue eyes crossed the bald man's gaze. As soon as she saw him, she tried to escape the bed. Mrs Kamali’s body tensed.  By taking a look to her face, the medical team could see she was clearly dehydrated.

“You… You killed my father!” She was angry. She faced the doctor with a defiant glare. He smiled with kindness.

“I understand your grief. I also lost someone I loved today because of this terrible war. But your pain will soon be over.” He turned to one of Elizabeth’s colleague, Daniel. “Bring the vaccine.”

Daniel pumped up the light grey liquid with the syringe and handed it to Doctor Freeman. The patient became agitated. “When I get out of here, none of you will survive!” The doctor giggled.

“It is not necessary to threaten us, madam. You won’t get out, not before we cured your disease.” He took the medical tool carefully. “After the administration of this vaccine, your body will increase its temperature. You may feel dizzy but it will be completely normal. It will keep you alive.”

“No! –” Mrs Kamali mumbled something incoherent. The doctor frowned. “Once we begin the malariotherapy, we will see how the body reacts and see if we are able to try another intervention. Together, we will help science and medicine to increase its knowledge, heal every Man and reassure those he loves. We will process to the first treatment with electroshock therapy concerning mental illness. Mrs Kamali, your name will echo throughout history.” He gave the needle to a third man, apparently called John, with a proud smile. “Administer the vaccine.”

John began to pick the woman’s dark skin, pumping down the thick liquid. Her skin crackled under the pressure. A thin trail of blood ran through her forearm. She blinked, beginning to cry because of her chronic soreness, diagnosed a few weeks ago. She moved with an impressive strength.

Doctor Freeman’s eyes widened. “Get ready! Elizabeth we need to apply the conductant and you sir, put this in her mouth!” He pointed a finger to the last of his colleagues. Elizabeth applied salted water on her temples meanwhile this brown haired guy put a rolled pad in the corner of her mouth. “This is supposed to keep the patient from biting her tongue.” 

“Why is she trying to reject the medical care?” The young man asked his chief. The doctor took a sharp breath.

“Give her time. We can’t wait for too long.” He applied two metallic electrodes wrapped in a strange soaked cloth along each temple. “I’m beginning the second part of the treatment.” He turned on the electrical black box and held her chin while he shocked her. Her body collapsed in a long seizure. The patient let a long whimper, leaving the rolled pad falling on the floor. She had breathing difficulties. The medical crew held her as tight as possible despite the strange power this woman still had in her state.

The woman gasped when she crossed Doctor Freeman’s eyes and closed her eyelids forcefully. His voice portrayed all the faith he had placed in the treatment. “It’s working!”

He sent a second jolt of electricity, letting the body collapse another time. “It will soon be over, Mrs Kamali. Don’t give up.”

Elizabeth saw the difficulties of the woman. How the exhausted body tensed forcefully. A large trail of urine had soiled the medical bed where Mrs Kamali was lying on. Her wrists were deeply cut because of the restraints. Her ankles were bruised and threatened to bleed. Her throat moved in this particular way, indicating the need to throw up. The blonde nurse held the patient’s head to the side, protecting her from suffocating with her own fluids. Her spine had cracked in a terrific sound during one of her seizures.

Mrs Kamali mumbled the same word a few times. Something changed in her comportment. She had anger in her eyes. With a new determination, she teared herself free from the metallic straps around her limbs. With a loud grunt, she knocked out Daniel and Elizabeth. The man – _what’s his name again?_ – who helped them holding the patient and secure her on the bed tried to tight his grip around her legs but he fell miserably on the ground. Mrs Kamali took advantage of the situation to get up and escape the room, pushing the bald man violently against the nearest wall.

She seemed to see something, running along the white and massive corridors of the building. She attacked invisible things around her. Something in her chest must have hurt the poor woman because it stopped her in her tracks. Doctor Freeman switched on the alarm, sending a part of the security staff chasing the tanned woman.

Mrs Kamali turned her gaze to another patient suffering from hysteria and waiting for the electroconvulsive therapy. The women barely talked. Within a second Mrs Kamali collapsed on the floor, her legs failing. In a foggy state, she ran again. The man had to do something to stop his patient.

He tracked her to the next corridor, and pushed her through one of the massive windows, breaking the glass. He had thrown the woman into the void in the process. _Shit. I’ll just have to say that she fell on her own_. He went downstairs as fast as he could, checking her vitals. She had to be conscious, because she let out a weak moan. She had bitten her tongue in the process, swallowing large gulps of her own blood. Her body was positioned in a weird angle. _Multiple fractures, the spine must have been crushed,_ Doctor Freeman thought.

“I have to find a way to keep this accident a secret. We have to program another surgery.” He held her to the nearest stretcher, and saw the poor woman fainting with a last twitch of her leg muscles.

Elizabeth arrived, running with the other men. The bald doctor looked at his team. “Mrs Kamali ran across the window and fainted because of the great height. I didn’t know she had suicidal thoughts; this is clearly a new symptom of her dementia. We have to program another type of surgery. She is a dangerous patient. Look at what she has done to you… or to herself. Daniel, I need you to prepare the second operating room. Elizabeth, I want you to clean her body and prepare her for the surgery.”

“Alright, sir. Do you need anything? Are you okay?” She asked.

“I’m fine. Just work quickly. And don’t pay attention to the pleas she has. Or her strong odor.”

“Sure, I’m on my way.” Betty nodded and led Mrs Kamali to her bedroom.

The doctor headed to his office. He poured a large amount of whiskey in a glass and gulped it in less than a second. He brought his hands to his eyes, closing them forcefully. _I just hope I won’t be considered guilty. At least now I have an excuse for the surgery I’ve always wanted to practice… For mad people’s well-being._

He stretched his back and walked through the building to the second operating room. Read once again the file concerning the patient number 3357. “Korra.”

Korra smiled. “Dad.” Doctor Freeman held his surgical tools, applying them on the exact position he had practiced a thousand times on dead people. He knocked on the exact point needed, very precisely. His patient threw up on him. Angrily, he demanded to send Korra back to her bed after checking on her spine. Before leaving the room, he heard a soft, breathless whimper.

\---

**A week later**

 

Doctor Freeman was sitting in his office, a glass of whiskey next to him, holding a pen. He was filling reports concerning his patients, smiling to himself. “I can’t wait to get out of here. I really needed a vacation.”

He reread the last file before leaving the building.  
  
\---

 

**Lady Azula Memorial Asylum for Insane Women,**

**Monthly Report Regarding Patient.**

**Year** _178 AG_

 

 

Case No _3357_

Report regarding _Korra Kamali_

Physical Condition _Deceased post-surgery_.

Weight _100 lbs._

Age _25_

Remarks _The patient was admitted in the Asylum with a General Paresis explained by the symptoms of dementia and muscular reflex abnormalities. Mrs Kamali’s delusions tended to be grandiose. She was convinced to be “the Avatar, master of all four elements”. The patient threatened to kill my colleagues and myself._

_We treated the disease with malariotherapy and used electroconvulsive therapy for weakened muscles and personality changes (also used as general anesthesia). During a healing session with injection of the virus, the patient tried to escape the medical care by running through a window; falling from the second floor. The patient severed her spine in the lumbar vertebrae area. The patient saw her father, deceased at War._

_Because of her state, the medical crew processed successfully to a limbic leucotomy, meaning removing a part of the brain in the frontal lobe. The surgery was a success; the patient remained in a calm state, all aggressivity removed with the surgery._

_The case died of septicemia, right eye swollen and mostly infected. Husband Mako died from a mysterious illness, no children behind. Patient No 3241 named Asami Sato took her personal belongings._

_Considering extending the technique to more patients to cure mental illness and idiocy._

 

 

_Very respectfully, Dr Zaheer Freeman_

_Doctor in psychiatry and owner of the Lady Azula Memorial Asylum for Insane Women_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kamali is supposed to mean "spirit guide" in Mahona if I remember correctly. It kind of made sense here... Oh and Raava was just a fucking talking syphilis. Stay safe lovebirbs.
> 
> I worked really hard on this story and I hope you liked it, even if it's sad and all. Your thoughts make my day and help me to improve my writing so don't hesitate to leave me a comment, even if you just tell me to learn English grammar :) 
> 
> Anyway, have a nice day <3

**Author's Note:**

> So, since English is not my native language I'm looking for a beta reader for this story and maybe some other works in the future if you're willing to work with me! You can join me on tumblr (tinyarmagayddon) :)  
> Kudos to you if you're still here, see you soon my fellow dorks!


End file.
